Perhaps fearing the ramifications when they seek re-election to the General Assembly next year, the two Metro Council members who also serve as Democratic state representatives declined to vote for the $65 million financing of a new baseball stadium Tuesday.

But they did it in different ways.

Bo Mitchell, who once was close to Mayor Karl Dean’s administration but has clashed with it over charter schools, which he frequently criticizes, voted against the deal to build a new ballpark for the Nashville Sounds. Darren Jernigan, who is likely to face a challenge in November from former state Rep. Jim Gotto, the Republican he defeated last year, simply didn’t vote at all.

But Jernigan, who abstained on each of the three pieces of ballpark-related legislation, insisted that politics played no role in his failure to push a button whenever it came time to vote.

“I couldn’t make up my mind,” he said.

Jernigan said the constituents he heard from were split on the issue. He said he could have stayed home Tuesday, but he attended the council meeting because he thought he might hear something that would persuade him one way or the other.

Dean introduced the deal on Nov. 11. The bill to issue $65 million in municipal bonds passed on a 29-7 vote, and the other ballpark bills passed by even wider margins.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/metro-council-members-in-general-assembly-pass-on-funding-new-ballpark/feed/0Darren Jernigan poses in wheelchair advertisementhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/darren-jernigan-poses-in-wheelchair-advertisement/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/darren-jernigan-poses-in-wheelchair-advertisement/#commentsTue, 03 Dec 2013 16:56:17 +0000Chas Siskhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=20657Celebrity endorsements are a dime a dozen at Nashville International Airport. Few, however, feature a state lawmaker and Metro councilman.

State Rep. Darren Jernigan, who may be on the verge of gaining an opponent next November, is the star of an advertisement from wheelchair maker Permobil. The ad can be seen near the entrance to Concourse C, one of the busiest parts of the airport.

The ad identifies Jernigan, who uses a wheelchair, as a “husband, father, director of government affairs, city councilman, state representative and mobility activist.” Jernigan works for Permobil and said he was asked to pose for the ad by his employers.

The ad could be seen as advantageous for Jernigan, who beat state Rep. Jim Gotto by just 95 votes in 2012, but it’s not clear that it violates any state laws. One of the few restrictions on state lawmakers is that they cannot be paid an honorarium for performing their duties, and Jernigan said he received no extra compensation for the advertisement.

“They just came to me and said the marketing department is talking about doing an ad with you,” he said. “I didn’t pay for any of it … and I get just the regular salary that I get.”

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/darren-jernigan-poses-in-wheelchair-advertisement/feed/0Darren Jernigan to resign from Metro Council in January, focus on state House positionhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/darren-jernigan-to-resign-from-metro-council-in-january-focus-on-state-house-position/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2013/darren-jernigan-to-resign-from-metro-council-in-january-focus-on-state-house-position/#commentsWed, 20 Nov 2013 20:56:55 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=20593Darren Jernigan, who has held two elected offices for the past year, told his Metro Council constituents today that he’ll give up that seat in two months to concentrate on his state House position.

“While it is legal to hold both positions, I have decided focusing on one role will be best for my family,” Jernigan, a Democrat, wrote in an email blast. “I will be resigning my Metro Council seat effective January 21, 2014, which will be my last council meeting.”

Jernigan, who has represented Old Hickory on the council since 2007, said he initially planned to resign earlier, but he didn’t want to trigger a special election, which would have cost the city nearly $40,000. He said the election to replace him will be held May 6 along with other races on the ballot in the Davidson County primary.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Joan Nixon, deputy election administrator for Davidson County, said the next regular election when a council seat could be filled is actually in August 2014, not May. Because council seats are nonpartisan, they have to appear on a general-election ballot, Nixon said.

ORIGINAL POST: Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan, elected last week to the state House of Representatives, said today that he’s looking at resigning from the council in 2014, the next time the city will hold a regularly scheduled election.

Jernigan said leaving sooner could trigger a special election to fill his Old Hickory seat. Metro already has an election planned for May 2014, when primaries will be held for sheriff, county clerk, public defender and other positions.

“Either I resign now and cost my district a special election, or I have to wait until May of 2014, so that’s probably what I’m going to do,” said Jernigan, who will be up for re-election to his House District 60 seat later that year.

Councilman Bo Mitchell of Bellevue also was elected to the House in District 50 last week. Mitchell has not yet said if he’ll leave the council before the current term ends in 2015.

Both Jernigan and Mitchell were elected to the council in 2007 and re-elected last year.

ORIGINAL POST: The chairman of the Davidson County Election Commission has contributed money to the campaign of state Rep. Jim Gotto, upsetting Gotto’s opponent in the fall election.

But there’s nothing illegal about the donation.

Lynn Greer has given $750 to Gotto’s campaign, including $250 in the most recent fund-raising period, which covered April through June. Both Greer and Gotto are Republicans, and they’ve known each other for many years, Greer said.

Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan, the only Democrat running against Gotto (who is unopposed in the GOP primary next month), said the contribution is troubling because the five Davidson County election commissioners conceivably could be called on to decide an issue affecting the race.

“Certainly Mr. Greer has a right to give to who he wants, but in his position I would think he would want to avoid a potential conflict,” Jernigan said.

Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said there’s nothing in campaign finance law to prohibit an election commissioner from giving to a candidate, even one in his own county. Blake Fontenay, a spokesman for the Tennessee Division of Elections, said commissioners are only restricted from serving as a campaign treasurer or manager.

Greer said he wouldn’t recuse himself if he had to regulate a disputed issue in the House District 60 race.

“I can be fair,” he said. “You know, I’ve got favorites in almost every race.”

Greer said he also has given money to Senate District 20 candidate Rob Mortensen, though Greer’s name doesn’t appear on either of the financial disclosures Mortensen’s campaign has filed thus far.

Election commissioners are political partisans by nature, with the majority party in the General Assembly getting to appoint a majority of the members of each county’s commission. Republicans took power after the 2008 legislative elections, and Greer moved into the Davidson County chairmanship at that point.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/davidson-county-election-commissioner-lynn-greer-gives-money-to-jim-gottos-campaign/feed/0Tennessee Republicans take note of Metro Council members’ tax stanceshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/tennessee-republicans-take-note-of-metro-council-members-tax-stances/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/tennessee-republicans-take-note-of-metro-council-members-tax-stances/#commentsWed, 16 May 2012 19:15:31 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=17101It wasn’t lost on the Tennessee Republican Party that three Metro councilmen running as Democrats for state offices either rejected or passed on voting for Mayor Karl Dean’s tax increase Tuesday.

Councilmen Bo Mitchell and Jason Potts voted against the 53-cent property tax hike on the first vote – when the budget basically had to pass – and Darren Jernigan abstained. They are running as Democrats this year in House districts 50, 53 and 60, respectively.

Adam Nickas, the state Republicans’ executive director, said the councilmen-candidates’ “distancing” of themselves from Dean’s proposal “stuck out like a sore thumb.”

“It just blatantly looks like they’re making this stance for political expediency, not necessarily because they disagree with the mayor,” Nickas said.

“Maybe it says something larger about the whole popularity of this tax increase to begin with. If they’re having to avoid voting for the tax increase, maybe that indicates there’s not much support. And they’re running in districts that are not heavily Republican by any means. The political dynamics of this, and how they’re positioning themselves, is really interesting.”

Metro government itself is nonpartisan, a trait that Tennessean Chairman Emeritus John Seigenthaler described as a strength in a speech last week about the government’s upcoming 50th anniversary.

Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan confirmed today that he plans to run this year for a seat in the state House of Representatives – the seat now held by his former colleague Jim Gotto.

Jernigan, a Democrat, said he has appointed a treasurer for his campaign for his party’s nomination for the House District 60 seat. If he wins the primary in August, he’ll presumably face Gotto, a first-term Republican, in November.

“I grew up in District 60 and now I’m proud to raise my family here,” Jernigan said in a statement. “I want to help make Tennessee an attractive place to relocate, start a family, or create a new business.

“I care deeply about where we live. Tennessee is confronted with tough issues every day. It has become more important than ever that we stand together, partner with stakeholders, and listen to the views of all of our citizens in order to overcome these challenges.”

Jernigan, 42, represents Old Hickory and nearby areas on the council. He’s been the District 11 councilman since 2007. Gotto represented District 12, centered in Hermitage, from 2003 to 2011.

Gotto

Jernigan said he was drawn into District 60 by the recent Republican-led redistricting. He said it’s no secret that he and Gotto are “ideologically different.”

“There used to be a joke on the council that if we agreed on anything, it was probably going to pass,” he said in a brief phone interview this morning. “We just have different visions.”

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2012/metro-councilman-darren-jernigan-to-run-for-rep-jim-gottos-house-seat/feed/0Council members looking at “no adverse impact” standard for floodplain developmenthttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/council-members-looking-at-no-adverse-impact-standard-for-floodplain-development/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/council-members-looking-at-no-adverse-impact-standard-for-floodplain-development/#commentsMon, 18 Oct 2010 16:46:20 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=12285A group of Metro Council members plans to file legislation that would prevent builders from doing anything to increase the height of the floodplain or the speed of the water flowing through it.

“It wouldn’t prohibit development, but it would say development has to take place in such a way that you don’t impact your neighbor because you don’t cause the water to go higher or go faster,” Councilman Jason Holleman. “What goes off your property onto another person’s property doesn’t adversely impact them.”

Holleman, who represents Sylvan Park, said the proposed ordinance, which has not been written yet, would require Metro’s stormwater committee to adopt specific provisions within “a reasonable time.”

Councilman Darren Jernigan of Old Hickory initially considered offering a proposal to ban all development within the floodplain after the devastating May flood. Holleman said he, Jernigan and other council members started looking at a more moderate approach after a recent meeting with developers, Metro Water Services officials and an aide to Mayor Karl Dean. He said he expects the approach to win broad support.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/council-members-looking-at-no-adverse-impact-standard-for-floodplain-development/feed/1Councilman Jernigan criticizes Metro, federal response to Waterford homeownershttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/councilman-jernigan-criticizes-metro-federal-response-to-waterford-homeowners/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/councilman-jernigan-criticizes-metro-federal-response-to-waterford-homeowners/#commentsThu, 24 Jun 2010 16:39:21 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=10712Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan of Old Hickory fired off an angry email Wednesday night to Mayor Karl Dean, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper and some of their top aides about what he sees as a failure to take care of homeowners in the Waterford subdivision along the Cumberland River.

Jernigan said he had been told by Metro three weeks ago that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could buy homes that have been vulnerable to severe riverbank erosion since the May flood. But at a community meeting Wednesday that he couldn’t attend because he was out of town, Corps officials said they were unaware of the proposal and that it would require Congressional action.

“I am very upset that we (government) are not following up on this situation and acting in more haste,” Jernigan wrote.

Jernigan told me in a phone interview this morning that he worried briefly that he might have pulled a “Jerry Maguire,” referring to the Tom Cruise character who bared his soul with a late-night manifesto about the wrongs perpetrated by sports agents like himself – and paid the price when he quickly lost his job. But Jernigan said he stood behind what he had written and felt comfortable with it.

Here’s the full email Jernigan sent to the mayor, congressman and others, referring to a message from a constituent who found the meeting “a complete waste of time”:

Please see the email below. I am getting dozens like it. My trip out of town was unavoidable but Rep. Mike Turner went on with the flood aftermath meeting and I thank him for it. I am writing to leadership on this email. From what I understand stormwater did not show at all and the Corps of Engineers in essence threw up their arms claiming no responsibilty or funding for bank stabilzation. Further, the Corps said they knew nothing about a possible buyout option and that it would take an act of Congress. Moreover, residents were told no other issues were to be discussed yet I have an email sent to the Congressman’s Office as well as several Metro departments with at least 15 questions to be prepared to answer.

Where we are now is at a crossroads where local and federal government on two different pages in regard to 43 homes identified to me in writing (that I shared with the community), lots that have homes on them that any day could go in the river. It is unacceptable that no one cares what is going to happen to these lots.

I am very upset that we (government) are not following up on this situation and acting in more haste. Identifying homes in the paper eligible for a buyout and not including the Waterford homes on the riverbank is baffling. Passing the buck back and forth between local and federal government while time passes is inmoral and dangerous. I watch as celebrities raise millions of dollars in donations and these 43 homes still sit on land that could be gone next week.

These homes need to be a priority today. I’m not sure what I can do at this point but people went home from this meeting discouraged and heart broken. I share their feelings. What I can do is move my stormwater bill forward, include Waterford language, and force someone to acknowledge this situation immediately. I am furious. Government was broken tonight and if the residents do indeed get together and sue the government we shouldn’t stop them. This may not be a flood issue but it did bring it to light and for us to ignore these 43 homes could be grave. We are on notice.

Those of you that know me know that I don’t venture into these type matters lightly. We owe these folks more than what we are giving them. There is a scheduled meeting next week at DuPont Tyler Middle School at 6pm to discuss the buyout program. I am requesting that we get on the same page and have some answers for these people even if it is not what they want to hear, because not knowing is worse. I will resend the questions when I get back in town.

]]>http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/councilman-jernigan-criticizes-metro-federal-response-to-waterford-homeowners/feed/0Councilman says Corps could buy some homes in Old Hickoryhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/councilman-says-corps-could-buy-some-homes-in-old-hickory/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2010/councilman-says-corps-could-buy-some-homes-in-old-hickory/#commentsFri, 04 Jun 2010 22:17:41 +0000Michael Casshttp://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/?p=10619Councilman Darren Jernigan of Old Hickory said today that 43 homes in the flooded Waterford subdivision could be bought out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rather than the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said the Corps generally doesn’t acquire private property, but Metro stormwater officials have been talking to the Corps about the need to remove homes from the dramatically eroded riverbank in Waterford.

Jernigan said he’ll be talking to U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper’s office about ensuring the process moves as quickly as possible.